Grækarismessa in the Faroe Islands
Grækarismessa in the Faroe Islands is held on March 12. Celebrated since 1943. This event in the second decade of the month March is annual. 
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The Faroe Islands are more than well-known for being a stopover for a lot of migratory birds. However, even though almost all of them excite birdwatchers around the world, the king of the birds for the Faroese is Tjaldur or Oystercatcher. Interestingly it is the Faroese national symbol, and the day when it comes back home from migration is the day nationally celebrated as an arrival of spring.
It brings great joy to many Faroese people when the first Oystercatchers of the year are seen and maybe especially heard. On the 12th of March, the people of the Faroe Islands celebrate Grækarismessa, which means, among other things, that the Oystercatchers have arrived and summer is at hand. Saint Gregory’s Day (Grækarismessa, in Faroese) traditionally marks the beginning of spring and celebrates the arrival of the national bird of the Faroe Islands: the oystercatcher (Tjaldur, in Faroese).
Similar holidays and events, festivals and interesting facts
Olsok or St. Olaf's Day on July 29 (King Olaf II Haraldsson of Norway is remembered as Rex perpetuus Norvegiae, the Eternal King of Norway. Olsok is a national day of celebration in the Nordic countries of Norway and the Faroe Islands, and also in the provinces of Härjedalen in Sweden and Savonlinna in Finland);
Truant's Day on March 21 (Poland, Faroe Islands);
Flag Day in the Faroe Islands on April 25
Mother’s Day on May 12 (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bonaire, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Dem. Rep., Congo, Rep., Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Gabon, Gambia, Greenland, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Macau, Malaysia, Malta, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Singapore, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Vietnam, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe);
Constitution Day on the Faroe Island on June 5
Ólavsøka Eve on July 28 (Faroe Islands)
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